If you’ve started developing more detailed operational plans at your manufacturing plant, you might be wondering how to continue improving upon basic modeling and simulation to thoroughly optimize production.
Many basic tools you may have at your disposal can pinpoint an efficient schedule under your current plant conditions – but what about when demands or material availabilities change? How precise are your modeling parameters? Does your current system allow for prioritization among your products? These are all important questions to ask. If the answers are disappointing, it’s time to go beyond simulation.
When we say “go beyond simulation,” we mean using a tool that tracks every detail within your plant to determine the most efficient schedule in any possible situation. With the right tool, you’ll be able to plan for changing conditions and determine exactly what the plant needs to maximize profitability.
Process Modeling
To go beyond simulation, your planning and scheduling tool must provide powerful process modeling abilities. A good process model will accurately represent your real-world system and account for any changing or unknown variables, allowing you to then run specific production scenarios in real time. Spreadsheets are a common first step toward building a process model, but once deviations or complexities pop up, many manufacturers find their cumbersome setup becomes messy and overwhelming. Advanced software, on the other hand, can model complex systems with ease while also providing a platform that is readily accessible and usable by all key stakeholders in your organization.
VirtECS® is perhaps the best example of this kind of software. VirtECS® can analyze highly detailed parameters, including yields, rates, setup times, and process vessels, which are used to create advanced plant models. These models can then be used to justify capital expenditures, reduce costs, or target process improvements. For example, one VirtECS® customer used our process models to analyze the labor levels across their plant and identify the optimal number of operators to staff at each point of production. With the help of the models, this manufacturer was able to create a balanced schedule and provide more labor where it was needed most. For more information on this case study, please download our VirtECS® Analyzer Guide.
Scenario Analysis
Tools that go beyond simulation should also equip you with extensive and specific scenario analysis. Scenario analyses will quickly explore multiple potential scenarios, evaluating which products should be given preference and the optimal production levels of both intermediate and finished products. You can also test what-if scenarios, or hypothetical changes to your process, allowing your organization to continually compare and contrast the best options for your plant.
Scenario analysis is another area in which VirtECS® excels. Manual scenario analysis is typically tedious, prone to error, and time-consuming, leading many manufacturers to test fewer variables overall. However, VirtECS® offers a process that requires minimal effort from employees while also running through more scenarios than one person would ever have time to do on their own. Once complete, the VirtECS® analysis can answer a wide range of questions, such as the best ways to prevent bottlenecks and the consequences of adding or removing pieces or equipment.
Many of our customers find VirtECS® most useful when facing uncertainty around one of their key process values. Our software can create a sample of every potential scenario, saving the results so all relevant parties in your organization can thoroughly review and make the best decision for the plant. If you’re interested in learning more about VirtECS® or setting up a demo, please fill out our form here and a VirtECS® expert will contact you soon.
